


Judgement

by xehaxig



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:34:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24135178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xehaxig/pseuds/xehaxig
Summary: The harsh cold of the water that pulled at his coat was slowly ebbing away. Ashfur could feel his jaws gaping as he struggled to take in another breath, refusing to let death conquer him- he couldn't. His rage burned as his lungs burned, eyes blurring as they peered at his murderer. A cold green gaze leered down at him without much guilt.He couldn't die here. The Clan… no. The Clan's needed to know the truth. That Squirrelflight was a liar, that she took in three kits, rogue kits, and betrayed her Clan!
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	Judgement

The harsh cold of the water that pulled at his coat was slowly ebbing away. Ashfur could feel his jaws gaping as he struggled to take in another breath, refusing to let death conquer him- he couldn't. His rage burned as his lungs burned, eyes blurring as they peered at his murderer. A cold green gaze leered down at him without much guilt. 

He couldn't die here. The Clan…  _ no _ . The Clan's needed to know the truth. That Squirrelflight was a liar, that she took in three kits, rogue kits, and betrayed her Clan-

It was like a breath of fresh air.

Ashfur blinked, light filling what was once dark. He pushed himself off the ground, struggling to glance around as he painfully took in air. Starlight danced on the ground beneath him, and he could hear the wind brushing against the trees. With much effort, he finally took in his surroundings.

It was StarClan. He died.

The first thing he felt was fury. That rogue had  _ slaughtered _ him, a loyal warrior of ThunderClan. She didn't care that she was breaking the Warrior Code- though that wasn't much of a surprise. The foxheart was a rogue after all, she would've never understood the code no matter how hard she tried.

Then, slowly, he knew deep down. His mother was here. All his old friends. Shrewpaw, and his sisters lost kits. He could convince StarClan to punish that dirty rogue sometime later. He yearned to hear his mother's voice again.

Footsteps caused him to jolt, and as his head whirled around, he could only blink, stupefied.

"Mother."

Brindleface looked just as he remembered her, before that fateful day Tigerstar had killed her. Her dark green eyes were soft as she looked upon him. He rose to his paws, fully this time, and moved to rush towards her, but her tail raising stopped him.

"Ashfur."

He blinked, confused, and an ear flicked back and he calmed his fur. "Mother? What's wrong?"

She stared at him, eyes searching, and she sighed. "I wish to speak with you, my Son. I want to know."

Ashfur hesitated, and Brindleface turned and began to pad away. Surprised, he followed after, tail tip flicking with anxiety. 

"What do you want to know, Mother? Why aren't you asking about Ferncloud? About me-" Ashfur paused, before chuckling slightly. "That's right… In StarClan you see all. You wouldn't need to hear about it. But how are you, Mother? How are my sister's kits? What about-"

Brindleface cut him off, her face turned away from him. "Ashfur, I need to know."

Ashfur, blinking, stayed silent. Why was she-

"Tell me why you've done what you did."

This caused Ashfur to frown. "'Why I did what I did?' What do you mean? I'm nothing but a loyal ThunderClan cat. What do I have to expl-"

Brindleface turned to him, her eyes watching the ground. They rolled with a darkness he didn't like seeing. "Ashfur, StarClan is not all-knowing, but we aren't oblivious to what living cats do. Someone is always watching at some point." Her voice shook, slightly. "You helped Hawkfrost almost kill Firestar. He lost a  _ life _ , Ashfur. He is your Leader. You betrayed him, and your Clan."

Ashfur's jaw was open, but he couldn't make a sound. "Mother…" He paused. "I… I regret that. I was taken advantage of! If you know of that, then you know how Squirrelflight hurt me! She took advantage of my trust, of my love!"

"She took advantage of nothing, Ashfur." Brindleface spoke, her voice like ice. "And Hawkfrost used you, yes. But you let him. You were eager to hurt Squirrelflight then, just as you were now."

Ashfur almost snarled, but held back his rage. If he didn't do the right thing, then surely he wouldn't be in StarClan? Obviously his past crimes were null, if he were here now.

But star's didn't sparkle in his fur. The cold ache of his throat never ceased. He hissed as pain sparked across his chest. 

"You allowed your leader to lose a life, knowing he could fully die, in that moment. You abused your apprentice because of who his mother was. You ruined your friendship with someone who loved you, just because she did not love you in the same way. You tried to kill her kits, because she caused you 'so much pain.'" Brindleface's voice was scathing, but her eyes showed the hurt and guilt that she must've felt. That must be why she refused to look him in the eye.

"StarClan will now proceed with its judgement."

Ashfur flinched at the voice, and his eyes darted up to a rock before him. He was in a clearing, he now realized. Brindleface broke away from his side, sitting at the base of the rock. Much of his kin also sit there- Ashfur noticed. Shrewpaw, one of his sister's oldest sons, sat with his tail draped over Larchkit and Hollykit. Frostfur, his aunt, sat on Brindleface's other side. Beside her was Whitestorm. Sitting behind them were two cats he didn't recognize, but they must've been kin, because everyone else in that corner was related to him in some way.

On the other side of the rocks, Ashfur recognized Runningwind and Swiftpaw, and a few other cats of ThunderClan's past. Cats he hadn't seen in moons. They looked upon him with neutrality, and Ashfur couldn't help but shiver at the cold. He felt like he hadn't left the river at all, the ice-y water still pulling him down and down into its depths.

"Ashfur." His name brought his gaze back to the rocks. Sitting upon them were cats he definitely recognized, save for three. Bluestar and Yellowfang were the first, standing above the rest. Goldenflower was standing beside two tortoiseshells, both of them looking nearly identical, save for a red fluffy tail on the tom. The final cat was a pretty silver tabby, her blue eyes dark and distant.

"You were a loyal ThunderClan warrior, for most of your life." Bluestar spoke once more, and as Ashfur stepped forward to speak, she sent a sharp glare his way. Ashfur, swallowing the fear that shot through him, closed his jaws and sat, waiting.

"As a kit, you survived death with your sister, while two of your littermates died. As an apprentice, you proved yourself multiple times, helping with the dogs and eventually earning your warrior name. You would've made a brilliant tom, and would've lived on in story for seasons to come when you passed."

Ashfur struggled to understand. What she said was true. He was a model warrior. So why-

"-Why are you here?" Yellowfang finished his thought. Her sickly yellow gaze stabbed into him, and she curled her lip. "You could've been a great warrior, but you ruined that when you grew greedy and resentful. You were a kind friend to Squirrelflight, and when she needed you most, you wanted more out of it. You wanted to be her mate, but you never considered that she didn't love you like that. She loved someone else, and you couldn't accept that. You compared a cat to his father, to his actions that you knew he would never commit himself.

"You allowed Hawkfrost, an enemy warrior, to enter ThunderClan territory. You conspired with him to kill your Clan Leader, all because he was Squirrelflight's father. You stood by as your Leader lost a life, and ran when your Clanmate was in danger. You plotted against a she-cat and her kits, because you felt entitled to her love. You physically abused your apprentice, and attacked him with your claws and fangs. And in the end, you threatened to kill all three of Squirrelflight's kits, all because she 'hurt' you all those seasons ago. You let them live because you found a better way to hurt her." She spat with finality, and Ashfur felt the cold lapping of the river even more. It pulled, it tugged.

"She lied! She claimed rogue kits as her own and is deceiving the Clan!" Ashfur allowed himself to yowl, rage filling him as he shot to his paws. 

"No." The pretty tortoiseshell, the she-cat, spoke this time. Her green eyes shimmered. "StarClan asked her to take the kits and claim them as her own. She did not break the code by doing so. Those kits hold the stars in their paws. They need to live, to survive."

Yellowfang raised her voice once more. "The kits have ThunderClan blood. I specifically asked Squirrelflight to take them, knowing they would save the Clans. Spottedleaf," Her ear flicked in the direction of the tortoiseshell she-cat, "allowed for the kits to exist."

Ashfur started, confusion rolling within him. "If they aren't Squirrelflight's, then how do they have ThunderClan blood. They shouldn't-"

"The kits are Leafpool's." The silver tabby said this time, her tail wrapped around her paws.

" _ Leafpool's _ ?" Ashfur hissed, disgust in his tone. "Leafpool broke the code! She's supposed to be the medicine cat, they're forbidden from taking mates and having kits-"

Yellowfang growled, and he shrunk back, eyes still burning with hatred. 

"Medicine cats cannot have mates or kits." Yellowfang mewed. "But Leafpool was not technically a medicine cat when she had a mate. She fled ThunderClan with Crowfeather, and abandoned her role. She only accepted it back after Cinderpelt passed." 

"So the kits are not only born from a medicine cat, but they're also  _ HalfClan _ . Pathetic." Ashfur spit, growing more enraged by the moment. The kits could live because they had power, but their very existence was breaking the code!

"You forget, young kit, that we allowed this to happen." The tortoiseshell tom, this time. His amber eyes glowered. "Three cats, kin of Firestar, shall walk with the power of stars in their paws. They will be the ones to save the Clans from the evil that lurks in the shadows yet to come. StarClan allowed these kits to be born, and that is why neither she-cat will be punished for their actions."

"Redtail speaks the truth, and we already reached our conclusion before Brindleface delivered you to us." Bluestar called once more, and the cats gathered all peered up at her. 

"Ashfur, warrior of ThunderClan. StarClan gathered to list your crimes to you, and to decide on your fate. Among us are your kin and Clanmates of old, and all of us have decided on the same thing: You are not forgiven for your crimes. You endangered the lives of your leader, your Clanmates, your apprentice, and the one you claimed to love. For this, you will not be granted an afterlife in StarClan."

Ashfur stared, eyes wide with disbelief. "What? You can't cast me out! My mother is here, my kin! My old friends! You can't just-"

Bluestar snarled in disgust. "You should save your breath, warrior. You lost your right to defend yourself when you threatened innocent lives for your own revenge. Every cat was judged upon death before you, just as they will after you. You are to leave StarClan's hunting grounds. You will never be permitted to return."

The grey tom felt the river even stronger now, and suddenly the darkness rose up and consumed him. A river, dark as the night sky, took over his body, and the last thing he saw before plummeting was his mother's green gaze, now cold and distant.

" _ Moth- _ "

Ashfur felt himself cut off, and suddenly instead of water, it was wind whipping at his fur. He fell, and smacked into the muddy ground below him. With a groan, Ashfur rose to his paws, and he felt pain rip through him as a cold liquid fell from his throat. Blue eyes snapped open in fear as he spotted blood pooling below him. With a cry of fear, Ashfur looked around, spotting nothing but dead trees and dark shadows surrounding him. For a moment, Ashfur met the ice blue gaze of another.

Hawkfrost?

The tom starred, before snorting in contempt and walking away. Ashfur tried to cry after him, but it was for naught. The tom was gone, and now Ashfur stood in shrouded clearing;

Alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyways, fuck the canon that is Warriors. Ashfur should've never gotten into StarClan, and we ALL know he's the dude possessing Bramblestar. Anyways, since Squirrelflight's Hope introduced a "Judgement" aspect, I've been excited to write my own idea out of what could happen.
> 
> The cats on Ashfur's Judgement Panel are the following:
> 
> Bluestar, Silverstream - Both had kits via a HalfClan relationship. Bluestar was forced to give her kits up to fulfil her own prophecy, and Silverstream's kits were kits of a prophecy that handled the fate of the Clans.
> 
> Yellowfang - Was a medicine cat who broke the code having both a mate and kits. While her mate was left prior to accepting her role, she was also forced to give up her kits, much like Leafpool. She also was the one to tell Squirrelflight that the kits should be treated as her own.
> 
> Spottedleaf - I feel considering Spottedleaf told Leafpool to follow her heart, it was StarClan's okay to the kits existing. She also struggled with love (both examples of her love interests being v gross and I wont rlly explain further than that!.)
> 
> Redtail and Goldenflower - Two cats who had smth to say about this whole matter. Redtail being Squirrelflight and Leafpool's grandfather, while Goldenflower is Brambleclaw's mom. Due to this direct relationship, they were allowed on the panel. 
> 
> I v much feel Ashfur didn't deserve a trial at all, because there shouldn't have been one. His final act was plotting to bring the Clans to ruin, and prior to that he didn't show much loyalty whatsoever. StarClan wouldn't have cared a single bit about Ashfur, and definitely shouldn't have let him in if this trial thing is supposed to be canon. Dude literally tried to kill multiple cats, succeeded in taking his leaders life, and still got into kitty heaven bc he "loved too much"??? get outta here


End file.
